Hi friend!

I’ve finished two drafts lately—one of my nonfiction West Virginia punk book for WVU Press and one of the sequel to the ska romance, Pick It Up!, which I’ve titled Work it Out! The nonfiction book will head back out to peer review and Work It Out! will sit for a bit while I work up the courage to edit. In the meantime, here are the vibes:

It’s a contemporary romance about two warehouse workers who fake date to hide their efforts to organize their coworkers but end up having real feelings.
While you’re waiting for more, please check out this article I wrote for the Press Enterprise on similar themes!
This month, the books I’m reading and loving include:Come As You Are by Jess K HardyThis is an awesome indie romance about Gen X-ers.River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer GivhanThis psychological thriller had me literally gasping and my heart pounding.Pride and Protest by Nikki PayneI loved this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement by Anuradha GhandyIt’s continually wild to me how much women’s history my education, even an MA in women’s studies, failed to provide because of US-centrism and anti-communist propagandha. Worth reading if you think you’re knowledgeable about feminism and the women’s movement.
What are you reading? How are you? I can’t wait to hear from you.

Becca

Hi Friend!

The last I updated, I had been accepted to the KissPitch mentoring program with Jen Deluca as my mentor. I’ve completed the mentorship, and it improved my ska rom-com so much! I’m really so grateful for Jen’s guidance and support.
Right now I’m reading and loving the fourth book in Jen’s series, Well Traveled, which came out December 6, In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, and Red Valkyriesby Kristen Ghodsee.
Another wonderful benefit of the program has been connecting with my fellow mentees. They are so talented and compassionate and supportive, and we’ve all bonded through the process of revising and querying our manuscripts. The program has been a huge success for its inaugural year, and over 20% of the mentees have found agents for their work already! A couple have already gotten book deals with big houses too! I’m so proud of everyone and so excited to see their books on shelves.
I’m still in the midst of querying, and it’s discouraging, especially when I learn stats about the numbers of queries agents receive and then of that small number, the stats of books that sell to publishers.
My desire to publish traditionally is getting more and more conflicted, especially in the midst of the Harper Collins Union and strike, Barnes and Noble being awful, and an ever-more consolidated industry (bright note: yay for the failure of the Penguin/Simon & Schuster merger!).
Publishing is frustrating. But I love my book, and I’ll find a way for people to read it. In the meantime, check out the cover mock up I made:

Happy book news! On Home is featured in Tamarack and Shine On WV’s 55 Gifts from 55 Counties Gift Guide, representing Upshur County! I was so honored when I got the email I teared up. The best gift you can give an author is reviews and word of mouth so please, if you haven’t yet left a review, consider writing one! It can be super simple: “I liked it”—and tell your friends. I really appreciate it!
Aside from querying and drafting a new manuscript (more on that another day!), I’ve spent the second half of the year organizing with my local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, especially with our cadre building committee and socialist feminist working group. Together, we’ve gotten local meetups going, raised money for abortion access, and have a new time bank in the works. Like my Kiss Pitch mentee group, this group of comrades have helped me feel hopeful and inspired in a climate where that’s difficult. I’m so thankful.
This summer, I made a documentary with the support of IE Listening Post on industrial development in Redlands, CA. You can check it out here. I got to be on public radio for the second time this year, talking about this project! Here is that segmentif you want to listen!
I hope you are finding ways to stay hopeful and well. Let me know.

How’s it going? We’re in end-of-the-school year mode over here as well as in prep mode for my sister’s wedding at the beginning of June! I’ve been busy writing for my local newspaper as well as the progressive local news site I’ve been working on.

Some exciting news! I was interviewed by Caitlin Tan for Inside Appalachia, an NPR podcast which airs on West Virginia Public Radio! This was such a dream come true for me, as I grew up listening to WVPR! You can hear the segment here!

Annnnd I got selected to be a mentee for the inaugural #kisspitch, a program that matches new romance authors with established ones! I’m so thrilled to be working with Jen Deluca, author of the Well Met series, to improve my ska romance, Pick It Up! Jen saw promise in my mansucript and we’ll work together on revisions! This is such a huge honor and many alum of similar programs go on to great things! Thank you, Jen, for taking me and my work on!

Reading-wise, I’m finishing up Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder and am getting into the middle of Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. I also picked up the graphic novel, Daytripper,by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, which is really great so far. What have you been reading lately?

Thanks as always for your support!